Coach Dan’s Sunday Spotlight 9.17.2017

Lockdown has finally come! So far so good. I’d say 95% of you have got the spirit of Lockdown right on the money! It was so much fun watching you all go at it all day Friday and Friday night. I love the teamwork and the work output by all of you.

What did I see this weekend that I thought we could work on? First of all, WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM! I know the Lockdown is a competition and I have loved seeing the competitiveness of you all. I love seeing you push yourselves to the best of your own abilities. What I don’t like to see or hear is complaining about another team. I also don’t like to hear people getting upset with the judges for calling them out on suspect movement standards. You do you. You and your teammate give 100 percent and let the pieces fall where they may. Do the best you can and enjoy the journey. It does you no good to complain that so and so isn’t doing the standard or that your judge missed one of your reps or no repped you on something. I know in the heat of the moment those reactions happen but at the end of the day I hope we all remember that we are on the same team.

As far as “bro reps” being given out and all that jazz. I will take partial blame for it this week. My explanation of the workout and tagging requirements could have been better. I forget that when explaining a workout we all need to know each and every thing we are allowed to and not allowed to do, so hopefully this next week I can rectify some of that. BUT!!! I am not taking all of the blame. You all have been with me long enough to know what a wall ball looks like, what a kettlebell swing looks like, and the fact that for a clean to count you must have your elbows past the bar and be fully standing! Don’t game an in-house comp… Just do the reps like we teach each and every day, PLEASE!

Now that I have that out of the way. I am stoked at the number of teams we had sign up. I am so excited for the next 3 weeks and I cannot wait to see you all push harder than you ever have. I am so excited to not only see who comes out on top but also what you all learn from this experience.

As I was watching you all on Friday I made a comment to one of my trainers and that comment went something like this, “If nothing else is learned from this week’s WOD besides the importance of the hook grip and the importance of using more than just your biceps to clean, then I will call this week’s WOD a success.”
I was amazed at how people’s form changed as they realized they could no longer just curl the barbell on their cleans. I saw barbell curls turn into full body cleans. I saw people use their hips and their traps and depend on proper movement to get the bar to their shoulders. It was quite impressive to watch and I hope that you all learned something about the clean this past week.

One more moment I want to share came Friday night. We had 2 heats and there were multiple teams in the Level 1 Men’s division… One team was watching their “competition” and as they were watching them they made this comment to me, “They really set the standard high, we’re going to do all we can to catch them.” Then, when it came to their heat they pushed themselves harder than I have ever seen them push but they still came up short and this was their reaction, “We gave it our all but just couldn’t catch them. Those boys really killed it.”
Why was this impressive to me? Because, their reaction wasn’t, “They should have been no repped” or “There is no way they could have beaten us” or anything negative at all. They gave 100 percent and even though it may not have beat that other team they were positive and congratulated each other. That is all we can do. Like I said, these are your teammates, treat them that way.

Don’t be a sore loser. Nobody likes a sore loser. In my younger years I used to be so competitive that me and my brothers would get in full on fisticuffs at the end of games. I look back and realize just how ridiculous that was. It’s not that my desire to win has lessened over the years, because I hate to lose and I always will. What has changed is my attitude towards losing. In my life, I have learned more through my losses than I ever learned through my wins. The taste of victory is sweet and the taste of defeat is bitter but when you taste that bitterness it pushes you to do everything you can to obtain the sweet, sweet taste of victory again.

Let’s not forget who the real enemy is here… Saratoga Springs CrossFit! LOL (Just kidding, kind of). Use this lockdown to push yourself but also use this lockdown to learn how to celebrate your competition’s successes. Be supportive and helpful. Be positive towards your CFTP family. Be honest about your movements and NO MORE BRO REPS!

Love you all and can’t wait for the WOD 2 announcement on Wednesday. If you have not done WOD #1… You have until the end of Monday to finish it. If you need a special exception, like Zach and I do, then message me and we’ll get it figured out.

Coach Dan

This week’s Spotlight goes to Justin Bertuzzi!

How long have you been at The Point?

*About 3 ½ yrs

What do you do for a living?

*I am an Electrical Contractor.

Prior to finding CrossFit what did you do for physical exercise?

*I had not had a regular fitness routine since my early 20’s.

If you had to pick your favorite accomplishment during your CrossFit journey so far, what would it be?

*I don’t have one favorite accomplishment but I feel great about finally stringing a few double unders together.

What is one piece of advice you could give new CrossFitters that you wish you knew before you began?

*My form is terrible on many movements so I don’t feel qualified to give this advice,, but it would be to learn and practice good form on all movements. Also, try not to compare yourself to others.

What is your favorite movement in CrossFit?

*I don’t have one favorite movement. I like to do high repetition body weight movements.

What is your favorite all time WOD you have done?

*Filthy 50 and Murph but we are usually out of town for the Murph WOD’s.

What are your goals for the upcoming year?

*I want to show up every day and have better control of my diet. The diet is proving to be the more difficult of those two.

*I also have a goal to outperform Amy Merrill three times in a month. I am counting the days she doesn’t show up.

Before starting CrossFit what was your view of CrossFit? How has that changed since joining?

*I didn’t know anything about CrossFit before I started.

Give me a brief summary of your CrossFit journey thus far.

*One weekend a childhood friend, who told me he was doing Crossfit regularly, schooled me at the ski resort for what I felt was the first time. At that time, I had moved into the office and was not getting much regular physical activity. Melissa had been trying to get me to try Crossfit for a while so we walked into CFTP. I had no idea what CrossFit was. I was surprised by and excited about how difficult it was. I was hooked on the first day but I was woefully out of shape. It is funny how we often see ourselves through our ego and then something like Crossfit will humble and change that view. I was, as many of us are, fairly fit in my 20’s and always seem to think of myself that way. It took me months to be able to do pull-ups again. I was excited when I started hitting the women’s RX weights. My diet improved and I lost almost 40 lbs along the way. Crossfit has improved me physically and mentally and reminded me how good it feels when we push ourselves to what we think is our limit and then a little further. I love that the WOD’s are thoughtfully programmed and I can push myself to my limit every morning if I show up mentally prepared.

Trainer’s Thoughts:

Coach Dan: Justin is a powerhouse body weight athlete. He kills the spartans and is one of the most consistent athletes in the gym. Not only that, he is also always willing to help out. You can thank him for the ropes that are hung up and the lights that are up in our rafters. Thanks Justin for being a part of the CFTP family.

Coach LaDee: “Justin is so fun! Such a genuine guy that is always up for a spartan challenge. Such a great example of an athlete, friend, dad and husband.”